Netanyahu Plans Direct Flight Visit to UAE with Kushner..."First Visit by Israeli National Carrier"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with which a recent peace agreement was signed, by direct flight at the end of this month. U.S. officials, including Jared Kushner, senior advisor to the White House and son-in-law of President Donald Trump, will also join the visit for a trilateral meeting. This will be the first time an Israeli-registered aircraft passes through the airspace of Arab countries in the Gulf region.

According to Israeli local media such as The Times of Israel on the 25th (local time), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, by direct flight on the 31st of this month. Netanyahu, along with the Israeli delegation and U.S. government officials including Senior Advisor Kushner, plans to hold a trilateral meeting in the UAE. The Israeli government stated that the meeting will discuss cooperation on joint responses to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), as well as focus areas such as aviation, tourism, trade, energy, and security.

According to the Associated Press, U.S. officials including Senior Advisor Kushner, National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, Middle East Envoy Avi Berkowitz, and Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook are also planning to visit Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Morocco, and Qatar. The AP reported that Bahrain and Qatar are expected to establish diplomatic relations with Israel following the UAE.

The direct flight is expected to be recorded as the first Israeli-registered aircraft entering the Arab countries of the Gulf region. Al Jazeera reported that Israel’s direct flight will pass through Saudi Arabian airspace to visit the UAE, which is interpreted as a symbolic gesture by the Saudi government supporting the negotiations between Israel and the UAE. If Saudi Arabia had not granted airspace passage permission, the flight would have had to detour around Yemen and the Persian Gulf to reach the UAE.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.